The Retail Price Index stood at 102.20 in January down from 103.25 in December.

The National Statistics Office said this primarily reflected a drop of 20.66 per cent in the clothing and footwear index due to seasonally lower garment prices.

The household equipment and house maintenance cost index went down by 3.79 per cent, mainly due to price reductions of furniture.

Cheaper communication services caused the transport and communication index to decline by 0.73 per cent. The beverages and tobacco index went down by 0.11 per cent, due to lower prices for served beverages.

An upward movement in the prices for services related to construction underlay an increase of 4.66 per cent in the housing index.

The food index went up by 1.67 per cent, mainly due to higher vegetable prices. Higher prices of some newspapers underlay a rise of 0.61 per cent in the recreation and culture index.

An increase of 0.50 per cent was recorded in the other goods and services index, mainly on account of higher fees charged for certain financial services.

Higher prices of gas and fuels brought about an increase of 0.45 per cent in the water, electricity, gas and fuels index.

An upward movement in the price for hairdressing and personal grooming services caused the personal care and health index to rise by 0.32 per cent.

In January, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 1.65 per cent, whereas the annual rate stood at 2.72 per cent.